Adam Walton rode several highs and lows across more than three hours to earn the first major upset of 2026 Roland Garros on Tuesday against World No. 8 Daniil Medvedev.
The No. 97 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Walton prevailed 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 after rallying from 2-4 in the decider to earn his first win against a Top-10 opponent. The 27-year-old Australian, who also upset a then-No. 15-ranked Medvedev last year at the Cincinnati Open, saved 16 of 21 break points he faced in a remarkable rollercoaster encounter on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
“I’m pretty tired right now,” Walton said in his on-court interview. “It was such an up-and-down match. I got off to a hot start, and I felt like the ebbs and flows of the match were quite large today. I’m just really proud of my efforts in the fifth set, to come from a break down to get the win.”
Despite dropping the second and fourth sets heavily, Walton did not panic when he fell to an early break deficit in the deciding set. He saved two break points at 1-3 and, after crucially going on to hold serve, later reeled off the final four games of the match to seal a three-hour, 22-minute win.
“I felt he was playing pretty well,” said Walton, when asked what he was thinking after dropping serve for 1-2 in the fifth set. “He was making a lot of first serves and he was liking my ball. I knew I just had to hang tough. I thought the game at 1-3, I faced some break points there and if I go down 1-4 with a double break, it’s going to be pretty tough from there. So getting that hold and keeping the score close, I knew if I just kept fighting maybe I would get a chance. I’m glad I did.”
Despite Medvedev outhitting Walton by 54 winners to 34, according to Infosys ATP Stats, the former World No. 1’s victory bid was undermined by his tally of 54 unforced errors. Walton now leads Medvedev 2-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series and will next prepare for a second-round meeting with Zachary Svajda. World No. 85 Svajda earlier downed Alexei Popyrin 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3), 7-5.
The 2021 Roland Garros finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas also advanced to the second round on Tuesday, when Alexandre Muller retired from the pair’s first-round clash with Tsitsipas leading 6-2, 3-0. Former World No. 3 Tsitsipas will take on Matteo Arnaldi next, after the Italian upset 29th seed Tallon Griekspoor 6-7(9), 6-3, 7-6(6), 6-3.
Meanwhile 18th seed Learner Tien extended his winning streak to five matches with a 6-0, 2-6, 6-0, 6-2 triumph against Cristian Garin. American lefty Tien, who on Saturday won his maiden ATP Tour crown on clay at the Gonet Geneva Open, powered 39 winners including 12 aces en route to his first Roland Garros match win. The 20-year-old will take on qualifier Facundo Diaz Acosta, a 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 winner against Zhang Zhizhen, for a third-round spot.
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